Betrayal
by SunrisePhoenix-ArsenicPixie
Summary: When Starfire wakes up to find that Robin has abandoned the Teen Titans and his duty to Jump City, Raven discovers that he may not have left willingly. After a couple of disastrous mistakes, Raven, Cyborg, and Beastboy find themselves in a desperate race against the clock, with the penalty for losing being the life of one Titan... and the sanity of another.
1. Chapter 1

**Starfire **

I knew something was wrong the moment I woke up in a cold sweat. It was storming rather badly outside, something that put me on edge on normal nights because it didn't rain on Tamaran, but the thunder wasn't what woke me up. Uneasy and wanting the reassurance of the countless security systems in the tower that everything was fine, I headed into the main control room.

All systems normal. No break ins, no one besides me had even used a door in the past hour… I then brought up the display for the tower's heat sensors, checking everyone's dots as I often did, my unobtrusive way of ensuring that everyone was safe and sound. I used to go door to door to check on them when I was worried or sleepless, but this was much less intrusive.

I glanced at the map, reassuring myself that all my friends were in their rooms, four dots winking silently at me. Noticing that Robin's room was empty, I quickly searched the rest of the tower for evidence that Robin was well. I found none. Searching the logs, his room's door had opened and closed, followed by his window. Very worried now, I set off for his room.

Outside his room, I paused debating whether or not to go in uninvited. Hesitantly, I knocked and the door slid open as I did so.

"Robin?" I called into his empty room, turning on the light. The room was empty, oppressively so. As I glanced around, I noticed how clean it was—Robin wasn't a messy person, but the room was devoid of everything that could be personally related to the Boy Wonder. The only thing out of place was a small piece of paper on his desk. Overwhelmed with curiosity and a growing sense of dread, I picked it up.

_Starfire –  
I know you will be the one to find this, it's storming and you always were the one to worry the most. Don't. _

_I have decided to leave the Titans, permanently. As a group you are mediocre, even with my guidance and training. Individually? You are pathetic. Cyborg is stubborn, Beastboy is weak, Raven is out of control, and you, Star? You expunge neediness. You're just too damn needy._

_I'd rather return to the Batman than stay here with you._

_I won't be keeping in touch,  
—Robin._

My first reaction was one of disbelief. Robin would never! Yes, he had sometimes despaired of our abilities, and yes, sometimes he clashed with us, but we worked through it. We were a team, a family. And yet, somehow, he'd gone anyways.

My second reaction was anger. How dare he leave us? On the night I'd nearly left because I'd feared my sister had replaced me, he'd sworn to me that no one could ever. Beyond any personal problems we might have, we had sworn to protect Jump City, with our lives if need be. How could he go back on his promise like that?

Fuming, I slammed the red alarm button in the common room, my eyebeams accidentally incinerating the paper beside it that read "EMERGENCIES ONLY, not for pranks. Beastboy, that means you!" The lights and sirens filled the Tower, and one by one, the Titans assembled in the control room. 

**Raven**

The siren jolted me from my sleep with a groan. What decent villain was up at this hour? Couldn't the police take care of the situation for one?

A scary thought—Beastboy's idea of a joke. If that green attempt at comic relief had anything to do with this, I swore silently, I would wring his scrawny little neck. With my budding plans of retribution, I materialized into the control room.

One look at Starfire's face demolished any doubts I had as to the veracity of the situation. Her eyes gleamed with rage, but the rest of her looked completely heartbroken.

"Hey, Star," Beastboy started, shifting into a horse, "why the long face?" He burst out laughing, trying and failing to lighten the dark mood that filled the room. Cyborg shook his head, and Starfire, who normally laughed at all of Beastboy's jokes, didn't even crack a smile.

"Not now, dude. Can't you see this is serious?" Cyborg was in full big brother mode already, and his voice of reason was creeping out. He seemed to do a headcount, knowing that Robin was the best at comforting Starfire when she was upset. He always seemed to know just what to say, especially when everything we tried to say just came out wrong. "Where's Robin, Star?" He asked softly, realizing that the Robin was not, in fact going to walk through the door any time soon.

"Robin is… gone." Her voice broke with the announcement, and I swear I saw a tear run down her face. "It seems that we were not good enough for him. It seems that we were not… worthy of his leadership." Her tone is harsh, harsher than I've ever heard it, and it scares me. "He has left this note. It was not… nice." She was trebling with barely contained anger now, and I worry that her demonic Rage will consume her for about half a second, before realizing that I am literally the only one of my friends with that problem. She slams a slightly crumpled piece of paper on the table, and storms out of the room.

Cyborg is closest, and he reads the note aloud. As he reads, my worries vanish. This note was written by Robin, but he didn't mean a word of it. Before I reveal this information to the group, however, I need to check out his room.

Silently, I teleport into the room in question. It's clean, but the shadow of a malicious presence lingers here, as well as traces of a monitoring device that has long since vanished, presumably onto Starfire's clothing. Robin may have left, but he didn't willingly. I almost teleport immediately to Starfire's side, but then I realize what is possibly the worst part of all of this.

She can't know. She can't be involved in the rescue effort; she needs to play the role of grieving Titan. She has to believe in the lying letter, the too-clean room, the sting of his betrayal.

The only way I can make it better is by rescuing Robin, and no one would know how to plan for that better than Cyborg. 

[A/N: Hey guys! AP here with a fic I _really really intend on finishing this time_. I literally typed this at three AM last night, so apologies for any typos or things that just don't make sense, I'll try to go through and catch everything at some point, remember that leaving a comment can help me catch things like 80000% faster, so that's a thing you should do!

To those of you who have read literally any of my other fics… I'm so sorry I didn't finish those ones, but when I get a chance I am totally going to go back and finish them… just… not yet.]


	2. Chapter 2

**Robin**

Few things can ruin a day quite like being woken up at gunpoint. Unfortunately, those things include being forced to write a letter that will make your friends hate you, watching aliens go through all of your things, being drugged, and waking up to find yourself kidnapped and strapped to a chair. I haven't been kidnapped like this since I worked with Batman, and it's not the sort of thing I get nostalgic for.

"Are you sure you have the right earthling? This one looks rather… weak." A familiar female voice droned from just outside my field of vision. The accent is recognizable; I know I know who my kidnapper is, if only I could just remember her name. Come on, Robin, think! If I can remember her name then I'll know who kidnapped me and be… on a first name basis with my kidnapper, and not much else. I sigh, I was trained better than this.

"You did want the one called 'Robin' from the giant 'T' by the lake, yes?" The alien who had captured me spoke, spitting out his words like broken teeth. His… I think it was a he, anyways… his accent was much less recognizable.

"Of course!" I could hear the woman rolling her eyes. "I was simply trying to needle our _favorite_ hero. He's finally awake. Drug him again." I feel a sharp pain in my upper arm as I continue to puzzle out the woman's voice. Where do I know her from? I hadn't gotten much farther before I passed out… again. 

**Starfire**

Although I was skeptical at first, now I was starting to remember all those times Robin had complained about… well, everything. From costumes, to training, to security, to membership, to which villains we fought, he said seen flaws in it all. Sometimes, he was right. Others… he was a whiny _clorbag vorblernelk._

After telling the others, I had gone into the training room to let off some of the righteous fury I had been harboring since my discovery of the note. I may not have the same problems as Raven if my emotions are out of control, but bottling up this much fury wouldn't be healthy for anyone.

I trained for hours, destroying target after target after target, only pausing when the alarms went off for the second time that morning, and resuming only after Beastboy informed me that Cyborg and Raven had gone to take care of it.

I continued training long after I lacked the green energy to produce a single starbolt, and well beyond where I would normally have quit from exhaustion. In fact, I only stopped because Beastboy reminded me to.

"Uh… Star?" the changeling had asked, nervously poking his head into the training room. "I know you're upset and all, but don't you think you should stop soon?" He looked at more apologetically before adding, "I'm just worried that you might over-do it, that's all." Hearing the concern in his voice, I smiled.

"Thank you, Beast boy. In truth, I should have stopped hours ago…" Nodding my thanks, I silently slid around him and into the nearest shower. 

**Raven**

I faked the alarm so that I could have a chance to explain to Cyborg without Starfire catching on, but I probably needn't have worried—she had been training relentlessly all morning, but just in case, I would rather do my talking in the middle of the city.

"So where's the crime?" Cyborg asks, after we convince Beastboy to stay behind and watch over Starfire. "I don't know about you, but I feel like serving up a can of butt-whoop on someone." Cyborg knew the alarm was a fake, the system was a part of him, based off of his circuits. He sighed. "Raven, cut the crap and tell me what's really going on." Never one for subtleties, that was our Cy.

"Robin didn't leave willingly." It was a statement of fact, not a question, but he answered it anyways.

"No, someone _forced_ him to do what he'd always wanted, right?" He was a touch heavy on the sarcasm, but that was understandable.

"Cy… have you ever heard Robin use the word 'expunge'? I searched his room, it was practically oozing malevolence." My explanation seemed to hit home, and he accepted it, at the very least.

"Why haven't you told Star? She's the one that's all cut up about this… it's worse than when she thought we were getting the _rekmas_." He asked, even as he guessed the answer. "Surveillance. They're watching her, and you don't want to tip them off. We can't tell her." He sighs, deeply. "This isn't going to be easy."

Having said what we needed to, we head back to Titans Tower, the sunrise a multifaceted rainbow on the plate glass of the tower. My home, where I belong, and where my friends are, and it's so beautiful. Heading inside, the silence was palpable.

Usually, silence is a commodity, something I can spend hours searching for and still not find. Usually, this would be a blessing. Usually, Robin would have called for training, or Cyborg and Beastboy would have argued over the merits of meat and tofu. Usually, Starfire would be smiling.

We needed Robin to come back, for the good of the team, and the well being of its members. I needed him, Cyborg and Beastboy needed him, Star needed him. We would rescue Robin, and we would bring him back. It wasn't even a question.

Beastboy looked up as we entered the room.

"Uh… guys?" He asked, anxiety in his voice. "I'm worried about Starfire." Cyborg and I glanced at each other and then back at the changeling, waiting for him to elaborate. "She hasn't flown at all this morning, and ever since she got out of the shower, she's been… meditating." The lack of flight wasn't particularly surprising—it wasn't as if she had lots of things to be really joyful about. The meditating was disturbing, however. It wasn't the fact that she was meditating that was so… weird. It was that she was doing it alone, and for hours on end.

For once, Beastboy was right. We should be worried about Starfire. 

[A/N: Here we are, another chapter posted already. I'm already working on the third one, with any luck, I can have it up before dinner! Again, apologies for anything that doesn't make sense, and any typos, but remember that pointing out any mistakes you find ill help me fix them faster!]


	3. Chapter 3

**[A/N: Sorry for the delay, I just got sorta busy! Also, writing this is hard because I'm taking a really good fic idea I had (and wrote down) ages ago, and making the plot better, the characters more… in character, and the plot devices less apparent. (The alien underling's name was literally 'Glork' before, lol) Sorry for the delay! –AP]**

**Robin**

Awake for the third time, I finally managed to place the accent: Tamaran. I only know one tamaranian, though… that would make my captor… Starfire? I groan in frustration, I'm no Sherlock Holmes, but I should be able to figure this much out. Hold on, I know two tamaranians… Starfire and her delinquent sister, Blackfire.

But why? Why kidnap me and not her sister, upon whom she had sworn revenge? Before I could puzzle anything more out, my mental ramblings were interrupted by the alien underling.

"Earthling!" I raise my head, trying to get a good look at the humanoid creature, trying to place his planet of origin, without any success. He looked like an oddly proportioned human, with limbs too large for his core. "The mistress says that it is time for a… how do you say… movie?" His mispronunciations felt like knives in my ears, and inwardly I groaned. I really doubted that Blackfire wanted me to watch Captain America with her.

A huge screen moves into view, and on it, there's a video playing of Starfire, asleep in her room. I watch in shameful curiosity. What does she wear to bed? She rolls over, revealing a tank-top that obviously has no bra beneath it and a pair of shorts that only barely qualify as not underwear. My stomach clenches at the sight of her, exposed and vulnerable.

'Come on, pull it together, man. Right now, you need to be a hero, the Boy Wonder, not some hormonal teenager,' I think to myself, as the on-screen Starfire suddenly jerks awake and flies to the control room. It had been storming that night, and she must have been upset, looking for companionship. As she headed towards my room, my heart sunk into my stomach. I'd known she would check on me, I'd written as much, but I'd still hoped that it wouldn't be her that found it.

I watch as she reads the letter, and the look of hurt disbelief turns into rage and she summons our friends to tell them. She's crying as she tells them, and I look everywhere but at her. Cyborg is angry, Beastboy looks like he's been kicked, and Raven is impassive, but I think I see a glimmer of knowledge in her eyes… Starfire leaves the room and the camera follows before I can study Raven any closer, but hope has already started to blossom in my chest. If only I could tell them, make a plan and escape, but I have no way of contacting them, Blackfire has seen to that.

Suddenly, the screen goes black.

"Ahh," Blackfire's voice is coming from somewhere behind me, but I can't see her. "How pleasant it is to see my darling sister again, even if it is only via video." She laughs, a cruel horrible sound. "Oh well, I shall see her soon enough, and then my revenge shall be complete. Confused?" I remain silent, refusing to humor her, but that was the wrong choice. She slaps me, with all her tamaranian strength. "I asked you a question. Does the brilliance of my plan confuse you?" I swallow hard, nodding, biting my tongue to keep back my retort.

Apparently, it was enough of an answer for her. "You see, bird boy… I'm in a partnership now." She steps out from the awkward angle she had been in, and I finally have confirmation the she is, in fact, Blackfire. It takes me a moment before I notice anything out of the ordinary, but when I do, my blood runs cold.

Her costume is the same as usual, but half of it is a distinctive copper color… and she has a black, stylized 'S' on her chest. 

**Starfire**

After my shower, I decided to meditate. My emotions were too strong for me to express safely, and it was meddling with my powers. Still unable to muster the joy needed to fly, I settled on my bed and began to empty my mind.

Just before my mind completely clears, I have an idea, and I'm not sure why I hadn't thought of it before. I could call him, and see why he left. If I called him, would he answer? Could I persuade him to come back, to give us another chance? Would it be worth it?

I sigh, knowing that the answer to the last question will always be yes. I grab my communicator and prepared to call him, trying desperately to get my hopes up. I called Robin, listening to the static for a few moments before speaking.

"Starfire to Robin, do you copy?" I ask, holding my breath. It's a good thing Tamaranians don't need to breathe, because it took him a good five minutes to answer.

"What is it?" Robin snapped. "Haven't I made myself clear? I don't need you guys. Or are you so pathetic that you're already in trouble without me?"

"Robin…" I would like to lie here, and say that my voice was even, and that my face wasn't dripping with tears. "You are well? The letter was most unlike you. It was not… nice."

"Star, I've needed to do this for a long time. If being a little mean was all it took, I should have left long ago. Don't call me again; if you do, I won't answer." He hung up on me abruptly, leaving me to cry on my bed alone.

After I composed myself, I returned to meditation. My emotions are even more out of whack than before, a feat I hadn't thought possible. I need to get them under control, and besides—I had, as they say, much to think about.

[A/N: That took so much longer than it should have, but after this I'm writing new material, rather than re-writing, so it should be easier. Until next time! –AP]


	4. Chapter 4

**Raven**

Looking over the security systems after filling in Beastboy, Cyborg sits at the main console, typing away hurriedly.

"Well, it definitely looks like an inside job… but who on the team would want to hurt Robin?" Cyborg frowned, leaning closer to the screen. "No, wait. The logs were doctored to make it look like an inside job… Damn, this is impressive."

"Dude…" Beastboy being unhelpful, as usual.

"Who do we know that has the skill for that?" I ask, confused. The only villain who comes to mind is Gizmo, and this isn't his style.

"The encryption key was definitely Tamaranian, but I'm willing to bet money that Star doesn't know how to do this. Who's our favorite Tamaranian with a vendetta against the titans?"

"Blackfire!" All of us had come to the same conclusion. "But why?" Bb scratched absently at his head. Once again, I was surprised by his naïveté.

"To hurt her sister, of course. She probably left a trail, attempting to frame Star… and besides, everyone knows that the best way to hurt her is to hurt Robin." Cyborg explained, while I pulled up the security cameras for Starfire's room. Ignoring the changeling's 'oh' of understanding, I focus on the screen, as Starfire suddenly stops meditating.

As she reaches for her communicator, Cyborg gasps suddenly.

"Do you think they've thought of that?" He asks quietly, none of us daring to hope that they hadn't. As she tilted her head towards the camera, all three of us had a clear view of the hope etched on her face. This wasn't going to go well—we weren't dealing with small town losers here, these guys had managed to break into Titans Towers and kidnap the Boy Wonder. The best we could hope for was radio silence.

Of course, when had any kidnappers been concerned about doing the best thing for the friends and family of those they kidnapped? Watching Starfire's phone call go from bad to worse, the guilt was unbearable.

"We need an excuse to scan her, so that we can find and dispose of the monitoring device without raising suspicions. Any suggestions?" My authoritative tone surprised even me. I'd always assumed that if Robin were to leave that Cyborg would be the natural leader, considering how many times they'd fought for the position. So far, though, Cyborg had been to shell-shocked to take charge, and since I was the one making the connections right now, though I didn't doubt that given more time, he could have figured everything out.

"What do you want us to do? Drug her?" Beastboy joked, weakly, not realizing that suggestion was actually a decent one. I nodded thoughtfully, secretly enjoying the look of shock on his face as I took his plan seriously. Honestly though, it was better than most of his other ones. Hamster commandos? Really?

"That sounds like _exactly_ what we need to do." Cyborg dropped his glass of water in shock.

"Is your bond with Robin open or is he just possessing you?" Beastboy asked, probably as a joke, but his question made me feel so stupid.

"You know, Beastboy, I hadn't even thought of that, thank you." The boy in question looked like he was going to faint. Two decent ideas in as many sentences? I was surprised, too. Maybe… just maybe, I ought to listen to the kid more. "Cyborg—get some hallucinogens. Beastboy, hang out with Starfire. I need to meditate if I'm going to try and contact Robin." 

**Robin**

I woke up again a few hours later, Star's surveillance playing on the screen. When she called my communicator I reached for it on my belt, momentarily forgetting that not only had they taken it, but there was also no way that I was watching this in real time. I watched the footage hungrily, searching for any shred of proof that the Teen Titans knew I hadn't left willingly, but seeing Star cry after I hung up on her, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she wasn't acting.

The pain in my gut at making the sweetest girl in the galaxy cry was all too real for her to be acting. What could I do? I had no way of contacting them. My communicator was gone, I didn't even have a pencil or paper! I was trapped inside my own head.

Robin, Raven's voice was in my head, our psychic bond finally open. I felt stupid for not having thought of it before. We need to know… did you leave willingly? They knew! I felt so relieved.

No, I've been kidnapped. Blackfire is working for Slade… From what I can tell, Starfire is going to be the real victim here, but I don't know what her plan is. Raven's presence drifted away from mine momentarily, and when she returned, I could feel her concern.

These drugs they have you on are going to start messing up your body if they keep giving them to you so close together like this. Look… I have to go, just… be safe. Oh, and Starfire will be fine. Her last words, obviously meant to comfort me, did exactly the opposite.

She's acting… right?

No. I can't explain right now, just… don't worry.

That isn't helping… Her presence vanished as quickly as it had come, leaving more questions than answers. Star was crying now, but Raven sounded guilty about something else. What was going to happen to Starfire, what more damage would be done to her in my name?

Batman had been right. It was too dangerous to get involved, there was too much at stake. Whatever happened to Starfire would be my fault; I was being used as an instrument to torture her with and we had never acted on any feelings we might have for each other. How bad would it be if we were actually dating? Just thinking about the pain she must be in made me want to cry. Would it ever be worth it?

[A/N: Poor Starfire, and I'm not even done with her yet… Until next time!—AP]


	5. Chapter 5

**Starfire**

My meditation was interrupted by a timid knock on the door. My friends have been giving me the space today, perhaps in an attempt to be understanding, but I missed them dearly.

The person at the door was Beastboy, and he was holding a glass of mustard and looking quite sheep-like.

"Hello, friend Beastboy!" I beamed at him. My apparent happiness shocked him, and he seemed to be struck dumb. "Would you like to do the hanging out?" I ask him, speaking over his stunned silence, while he gets his bearings back. "Perhaps you would like to teach me the ways of your game videos?"

"Starfire… that's a _video game_, and I'd love to show you!"Grinning, relieved to see me smiling, perhaps, he grabs my hand and drags me off to the common area. We play together for several hours, neither of us noticing Cyborg enter the room and begin cooking until after he was already done and had announced as much.

"Hey, little lady," he said, pulling me off the couch and twirling me around before setting me on a stool in front of the counter. "I made you an anchovy and okra* casserole!" He places the dish in front of me and gives an odd look to Beastboy before I start to eat.

"This casserole is delicious, Cyborg!" I say, halfway through the plate. Eating on Earth is hard, as I must constantly remind myself not to eat in the Tamaranian way, which I have been told is most off-putting. "Please, it is a traditional Earth dish?" Cy looks distinctly uncomfortable now, and he shakes his head apologetically now.

"Not at all," he grins, uneasily. "I had to make it up, just for you! Hope you like it, but I better go check back up on the T-car now, see ya later!" He ran off before I could even offer to help him. I finishing the meal, I returned to the couch.

After dinner, I tried to watch the movie with Beastboy, but I began to feel quite ill shortly after it began, and fell asleep halfway through.

I woke up in the darkened common room, alone. Or so it seemed. As my eyes did the waking up, I noticed a small amount of movement from the corner of my vision. I turned to find a large black snake slithering towards the hallway that contained all of the living quarters

I followed it cautiously, not sure if it was poisonous. On my planet, such creatures are generally _r'utha_—weak in an endearing sort of way, but I was not familiar with this particular variety, and I did not wish a potential threat to have free roam of the tower. We stopped outside of Raven's room, and it inched towards the her door.

Before I could knock on the door or summon the empath and discover what exactly she wanted me to do about the snake, her door slid open.

"Starfire?" she asked sleepily as the snake coiled itself up and lifted its head. "What's the matter? Your fear was strong enough to leak into my meditations…" She trailed off as the snake launched itself at her throat. Mildly surprised that Raven did not defend herself, I attacked the snake. I refuse to lose another friend to any force; _rekmas _or creature. My starbolts and eyebeams made short work of the creature, and when I was done, raven stared at me oddly. "What in Azar's name was that?" She asked sharply.

"There was a snake, I am sorry that we woke you up. May I request your assistance in cleaning it up?" My response was cheerful—after all, I was victorious over the snake, and Raven was safe. She looked blankly at me, and at the remains of the snake before responding.

"What snake? Cleaning what up?" Now it was my turn to be confused.

"That snake," I said, pointing at it. She frowned again looking exactly where I pointed.

"There's nothing there," she countered, even going so far as to lean down next to where the remains where. Checking where she should be looking with where I was pointing, she swept her hand along the floor… right through the snakes dead body. "See?" I shook my head, trying to clear my vision, but the snake was still there, and now raven's hand had blood on it up to her wrist.

"It was right there…" I trail off, because suddenly, Raven possesses me, looking through my eyes. As I look back at the snake, it disappeared, right before my eyes.

See, she said gently. There's nothing there. As she left my body, the door to Beastboy's room opened, and the changeling stepped out, yawning. He stopped, observing the damage my starbolts had done, and not seeing the snake, either.

"Temper tantrum, much?" He joked weakly. "Hey, maybe you should get some rest… go to your room and sleep or something," he said, exchanging an odd look with Raven. I shook my head again, close to tears.

"I shall see you in the morning, then, friends," I said, walking to my rooms, horribly confused. What was going on? Why had I seen the snake and Raven and Beastboy had not? Why me, and not the boy how could converse with animals, nor the girl who could sense any living mind?

Why me?

[A/N: About the casserole… Okra is a disgusting little veggie that can be pickled or fried and is often used in the Cajun dish Gumbo, when sliced it is _star_ shaped, it's kind of my headcanon gross veggie that Star enjoys eating. I have, in fact had an Anchovy and Okra sandwich, a few years ago as part of my school's 'Amazing Race' themed field day. My team members and I were forced to make and eat the sandwich in order to receive the points. My teammates were a bunch of wusses with weak stomachs, and I am **VERY **competitive. My team won the competition, because I ate that sandwich, and I ate ALL of it.

Anchovy and okra just strike me as the sort of combination Starfire would enjoy. Sue me. See you again soon—AP]


End file.
